Review: Far From Faith

MCM is always a treasure trove of independent comic books published by fantastic companies here in the UK. One such company that I discovered during my journeys through the comic village is that of Brambletyne, a charming independent comic book and game development company, who are responsible for the ever-intriguing series Far From Faith.

Far From Faith is a thriller tale following Helen, a young, God-fearing government official, who is tasked with checking over the latest account report for an organisation known only as “The House”, whose entire inner workings are unknown, even to the majority of the government. While we as the readers do get some insight into what is happening there, with brief glimpses of the organisation’s manager Mr Bailey and his interactions with a teenage girl, known as ‘B’, who is seemingly being kept in solitude from the outside world. However, we do not receive any knowledge as to the purpose of this, deepening our interest in the investigation of this mysterious, and seemingly powerful, entity. Adding to this sense of unease about the premise is the fact that Helen’s boss has died quite suddenly, with no reasoning ever given as to the cause of his death. Mixing this with our glimpses of the “The House” and its mysterious and always suited staff, this provides the reader with a sense of unease about the world Helen is cast into.

With the opening of the comic drawing us in, the following three issues take the reader on a ride through both the present and the past, revealing some secrets that have been hidden away from public eyes. The journey also brings an emotional aspect, and forces both the characters and the reader to consider truth and belief, and looks at the nature of faith in itself. Helen’s belief is thrown into question on several occasions as more and more of “The House’s” activity are made clear to her and the reader. This is not to say that all our questions about this world and the characters we meet are all answered neatly by the end of the three issue saga. Indeed, the final issue leaves us with many questions that remain unanswered.

The story is superbly written by Adam-James Foulkes. As a thriller goes the pacing of this story is spot on, with there never being too much or too little revealed at any point in the story, and there always being at least one more question to keep us reading. The issues are also beautifully brought to life by Lynne Triplett’s artwork. Each new landscape and character is distinct, and all bring this fantastic mystery to life. The atmosphere of the artwork is perfect for the tone of the story, and a lot of the panels feel like they deserve to be splash pages rather than single frames so that we can appreciate the full detail of each image.

All in all Far From Faith is a brilliantly executed saga told across 3 issues, now referred to as ‘Chapter One’. The ending of the series leaves plenty of room for the story and universe to be revisited and based on my conversations with Adam-James at MCM it will be, but not necessarily in a comic book format.